Commission proposes advancing the single
market for radio spectrum use

The European Commission today presented a new EU strategy for an
optimal use of radio spectrum in Europe. Radio spectrum is a critical input for
many sectors relying on wireless transmission such as broadcasting, transport
systems and mobile telephony. How we manage this essential resource in Europe
has a significant impact on consumer choices, growth and innovation potential.
The proposed EU strategy aims to lower the barriers to access radio resources
and to take advantage of the synergies resulting from a common European
approach.

“Radio spectrum is fast becoming the lifeblood of the Information
Society, whether you use a mobile phone or watch a TV broadcast.” said
Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. “The direct
economic contribution of industries using the radio spectrum is already
considerable, between 1 and 2% of national GDP in the EU, but could be greatly
increased if national regulators and all stakeholders can identify common
approaches at EU level to create a single market for equipment and services
using radio spectrum.”

The development of an integrated EU market for innovative wireless devices
and services promises to boost investments and economies of scale, assist trade
flows, reduce prices and widen choices for consumers. It is however critically
dependent on a common approach at EU level to managing radio spectrum resources.
At the moment, radio spectrum usage is still fragmented among the 25 Member
States, which prevents this important economic resource from being efficiently
exploited across Europe. This is why the Commission proposes to develop common
EU rules for a number of promising new mass-market applications, including Ultra
Wideband and Broadband Wireless Access technologies as well as “wireless
barcodes” for Radio Frequency Identification Tags (RFIDs).

The new Commission strategy in addition advocates overcoming the rigidity of
traditional radio spectrum management approaches, where administrations tie
usage rights of individual spectrum bands to specific transmission technologies
and too narrow service definitions such as broadcasting or mobile
communications. A greater flexibility in access to spectrum will give market
players more freedom to use radio resources as they choose. This is an essential
condition for achieving the full potential of radio spectrum resources and for
keeping pace with technological advances and convergence both of technology
platforms and of services.

As part of its spectrum reform strategy, the Commission also proposes that,
between now and 2010, the exclusive usage rights for significant parts of the
radio spectrum ought to be made tradable according to common EU rules.
Independent estimates indicate that significant net gains (around €8-9
billion/year) could be achieved by introducing market mechanisms in order to put
spectrum to its most promising uses throughout the EU.

As a de-regulated access to spectrum can encourage the development and use of
innovative technologies, the Commission’s new strategy finally foresees
investigating further the opportunities to make available licence-free radio
frequencies to allow different users to share bands as already the case for WiFi
radio access. This will ultimately widen the choice of the wireless applications
for the consumer.

In the Commission’s view, a better use of the spectrum can also be
achieved by seeking actively to free up parts of the radio spectrum for new
uses. For instance, the current transition from analogue to digital broadcasting
may lead to a considerable “spectrum dividend”. The Commission
wishes to begin a discussion with the EU Member States on the extent to which
part of this spectrum could be made available for new pan-European services,
including converged applications such as mobile TV and data services.

The new Commission strategy on radio spectrum is part of Commissioner
Reding’s initiative “i2010– a European Information Society for
growth and jobs”, adopted by the Commission on 1 June 2005 (see IP/05/643).